FOREWARD
In 1987, the
Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM) assumed responsibility
for preparing and maintaining Federal Meteorological Handbooks. The task of
accomplishing preparation and coordination of handbook No. 3
(FMH-3)--Radiosonde Observations and associated handbooks #4, 5, and 6, was
assigned to the Ad Hoc Group for FMH-Upper Air (AHG FMH-UA) through the Working
Group for Upper Air Observations under the Committee for Basic Services (CBS).
This edition
of FMH-3, "Rawinsonde and Pibal Observations," concludes a 5-year
effort by the AHG/FMH-UA to meet the objectives outlined in giudance issued by
CBS. Specifically, the CBS directed that the new FMH-3 should: (1) reflect
our Nation's commitments to international organizations (i.e.,WMO,ICAO) ; (2)
integrate conventional and automatically observed data by adopting new
standards for automated, augmented, and manual observations; (3) allow
agencies to prepare and issue agency-specific procedures and instructions for
taking and reporting upper air observations; and (4) combine FMHs 3,4,5, and 6
into a new FMH-3. In previous editions of the Federal Meteorological
Handbooks, all procedures and internal agency instructions pertaining to upper
air observations were described in FMHs 3 through 6. Beginning with this
edition, FMH-3 will contain only Federal standards; it will not contain
agency-specific procedures and practices.
I
would like to acknowledge the efforts put forth by members of the AHG/FMH-UA,
past as well as present, who diligently labored and persevered to produce this
document. Interagency coordination, especially the establishment of new
standards which have impacts on policies and procedures, is an extremely
difficult task and worthy of special recognition. I commend the AHG/FMH-UA
members for their efforts.
Julian M. Wright, Jr.
Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Servies
and Supporting Research